NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The goal for the women’s cross country team this year has been to qualify for the NCAA National Meet. On Saturday, the Lady Bisons will have an opportunity to preview the course, along with the men’s squad, at the Pre-Nationals Meet hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind.

“It will be our first time up there,” Bill Taylor, director of cross country and track and field, said. “It will offer a few things. First, the competition will be amazing with a great opportunity to see where we stand and to scrape up some at-large points.

“The other part of it is running on the national championship course, which will pay off if we qualify. We are so close to qualifying and being in the mix that we want to get the opportunity to see what the course is like.”

Both squads will face some of the nation’s best teams with a total of 21 ranked squads.

The Bisons will run against nine ranked teams including No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Colorado and No. 4 Oregon.

Also an opportunity to race against regionally-ranked foes, Lipscomb will challenge Florida State, Georgia Tech and Memphis.

The Lady Bisons are set to compete against 12 nationally-ranked squads including No. 2 Florida State and No. 5 Georgetown. Of the South Region squads, Georgia Tech and Mississippi will be there along with Florida State.